وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَآءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّـلِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا
“And We Reveal the Qur'an that which is a cure and a mercy to the believers; but it increases the wrongdoers in nothing but loss.” (Surah Al-Isra’ 17:82)
The word used by Allah is “Shifa” (شِفَآءٌ) meaning a CURE; Allah did not describe at as medicine (دواء / dawa’). Why?
Because if it is a medicine, if you take it, there is a chance that you will be cured or not be cured. But by describing it as a cure, Allah gives us assurance that it will definitely have a curing effect, if we apply it correctly.
What does it cure against? Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafsir, “meaning that it takes away whatever is in their hearts of doubt, hypocrisy, Shirk, confusion and inclination towards falsehood. The Qur'an cures all of that.”
But beyond spiritual diseases, the Qur’an is also an effective cure for other diseases of the heart such as laziness, arrogance, ostentation (riyaa), envy, fear, anxiety, sadness, cowardice, anger, and obsession for the dunya; in fact, the Qur’an is also a cure for some physical diseases, as indicated authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.
And so, this ayah reminds us that, whenever we recite the Qur’an, in addition to the intention for blessings or seeking knowledge, we should also make a clear intention and du’aa to Allah that the recitation becomes a means of spiritual, emotional and physical healing for us!
Now, one might ask, “why is it when I recite the Qur’an and I am not experiencing the effects? Why am I nowhere closer to being cured?”
Just as some of the most effective medicines, the reason why sometimes they don’t have an effect on us, are either one of four things:
Either they are not the “correct” medicine for us; the dosage is insufficient; the medicine isn’t taken correctly in methods as prescribed; or that we are impatient – the healing has yet to take effect in a way that we can observe.
1. They are not the “correct” medicine for us?
The effectiveness of certain medicines will depend on the specific conditions of a patient. Allah provides guarantee that the Qur’an works as a cure لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ for believers – those with iman.
And so for those who have iman, if the Qur’an doesn’t have an effect on us, then perhaps it is a reminder from Allah to view it from a Growth Mindset perspective to re-examine our deeds: Perhaps it could be our sins that are holding back? This ayah is a reminder for us to check ourselves, turn to Him in repentance, increase in our good deeds, and abandon sinful behaviors to allow the Qur’an to take root in our hearts to improve its effectiveness.
Also, there is another, important detail in this ayah: وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّـلِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا – for the disbeliever or skeptics who attack or doubt the Qur’an, it will not be a mercy or a cure, but in fact only make them more arrogant in their disbelief.
Ibn Kathir says, “This is only for those who believe in it and accept it as truthful, it is a cure and a mercy only for such people. As for the disbeliever who is wronging himself by his disbelief, when he hears the Qur'an, it only makes him further from the truth and increases him in his disbelief. The problem lies with the disbeliever himself, not with the Qur'an"
“And whenever there comes down a Surah, some of them (hypocrites) say: "Which of you has had his faith increased by it'' As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice. But as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add suspicion and doubt to their suspicion, disbelief and doubt; and they die while they are disbelievers.” (Surah At-Taubah 9:124-125)
2. Insufficient dosage
The Qur’an isn’t just a once-off vaccine jab; it’s a constant companion and reference to be guiding us throughout our lives! Just as we cannot expect to flick a switch to get rid of all the diseases of the heart, likewise, applying the Qur’an as a cure is a lifetime commitment.
There is an interesting authentic narration in sunan At-Tirmidzi, whereby a person suffered a stomach ailment, and the Prophet ﷺ prescribed honey. When he consumed the honey, he came back and complained that it got worse. Then the Prophet once again described honey. Then he came back and complained again: and again, the Prophet prescribed more honey. THEN he was cured! Scholars commented this hadith saying that the man was not consuming the sufficient dose – and only on the third time when he took more, did he get cured.
Also, it is worth noting that different people have different “triggers” on which verses or surah from the Qur’an that deeply impacts them, personally. The same was true even for the righteous predecessors and companions of the Prophet ﷺ; for example, one companion loved surah Al-Ikhas (Qul huwAllahu Ahad) so much that he recited it in every rakaah. In one narration, the opening verses of surah Ta-Ha had softened and affected the heart of Umar ibn Al-Khattab so much that he embraced Islam. And Fudhail bin Iyad, the highway robber criminal who once had an intention to commit zina with a woman, until he heard the recitation of a verse from Surah Al-Hadid: "Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah...". This immediately made him rethink his life, repent completely and change to be the scholar we have come to know and love.
Perhaps we are still in need of putting more effort to learn and discover our own personal gems!
3. The medicine isn’t taken correctly in methods as prescribed
Maybe we are not upholding or adhering to the commandments of those verses we are reciting. Perhaps we are still falling short of implementing the rulings of tajwid in our recitation.
Or, perhaps we are still lacking in knowledge and understanding of the recitation for the lessons to have an impact to our hearts and mind; hence perhaps that is why the recitation feels like a mechanical, lifeless ritual which we feel is “boring” and that we only practice in Ramadhan.
We need to put in effort to build a relationship with the Qur'an, in order to cultivate the Love for it in our hearts. The righteous predecessors of the past used to Love the Qur’an – they would recite it in Night Prayers with such deep reflection and engagement to the extent that they wouldn’t even realize that they were hurt while being hit with an arrow. A level of engagement that even hardcore gamers don’t attain!
4. We are impatient and hasty – the healing has yet to take effect in a way that we can observe.
Just like any health and fitness program, it may take time and a continuous application before you observe any results, you need to be patient, remain steadfast and trust the process. In fact, many of the times, the results will already be there; it’s just that we have been looking in the wrong places and having the wrong expectations of what it should actually be (e.g. over-reliance on measuring “weight” only!)
Since much of our diseases are a cumulative effect of what we have seen, heard and experienced throughout our lives – including that which we watch on television and the internet – then we need to allow the cumulative effect of Qur’an to take place to cleanse away the toxic effects of our past sins.
Just keep building your relationship with the Qur’an, and put your Trust in Allah, الشَّافِي Ash-Shafi – Who Assured the Qur’an as a Cure!
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